Unalaska, AK – One of the most renowned scholars of Unangan culture and art has passed away. Lydia Black died Monday morning of liver failure at her home in Kodiak. She was 81 years old.
Black was the author of numerous books on Unangan and Alutiiq culture and art, Russian Alaskan history and other subjects. She was a professor emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and had previously taught at Providence College in Rhode Island, after immigrating from the Soviet Union.
Unalaska, AK – Dutch Harbor played host to a military ship from a different country this weekend. The HMCS Ottawa, a Canadian Navy frigate, stopped in Unalaska on Friday.
The Ottawa was on its way home to Victoria from a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia, where it was part of an expeditionary strike group led by the U.S. Navy's USS Boxer.
Lieutenant Commander Brian Costello, the Ottawa's executive officer, said the ship was mostly involved in maritime security operations, which he described as the naval equivalent of a cop walking a beat.
Unalaska, AK – What could've been a serious shipwreck was narrowly avoided this morning after a tramper vessel lost power near Hog Island in Unalaska Bay.
The Salica Frigo, a 443-foot Spanish-flagged ship, came within three tenths of a mile of hitting Hog Island after a complete engine failure at about 3 a.m. this morning. The ship was able to restore power at 6:43 a.m., about 15 minutes before it would have run aground at the speed it was drifting.
Unalaska, AK – As of today, Unalaskans airing grievances on the Unalaska Advertiser web log will have to sign their names to their postings.
Hundreds of people visit the Advertiser blog each day to read and contribute anonymous postings, frequently sharp jabs taking aim at targets across Unalaska's entire political spectrum, from longshoremen's union representatives to city officials.
Unalaska, AK – The Unalaska Raiders came out swinging in the first game of the Western Conference Basketball Tournament this morning. The boys, who were seeded fourth going into the tournament, beat the fifth-ranked Chevak Comets 61-39 in the opening game of regionals. After ending the first quarter tied 12-12, the boys broke away in the second, outscoring Chevak 15-4. They were able to expand on that lead in the third and fourth quarters, coming out 22 points ahead at the final buzzer.
Unalaska, AK – Employees of two of the three fuel providers in Unalaska are now on strike.
Teamsters-affiliated employees at Delta Western Fuels joined half a dozen pro-union workers from North Pacific Fuels on the picket lines yesterday.
The two companies' employees are striking for different reasons. Delta Western employees are striking for recognition of their proposed union, the Anchorage-based Teamsters Local 959. Union officials say that all six of the company's eligible Unalaska-based employees have signed Teamster representation cards, and that the union has asked for voluntary recognition from Delta Western. Company representatives didn't return calls for comment today.
Unalaska, AK – The Unalaska City School District Board announced today that high school principal John Conwell will be the district's next superintendent.
Conwell has accepted a two-year contract, according to a press release issued by the district this afternoon. He will succeed current superintendent Darrell Sanborn, who will retire in June after seven years running the district.
Unalaska, AK – Researchers from the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward are in Unalaska this week collecting data on Steller's eiders, a species of sea duck that winters in the Aleutian Islands.
The work is part of a joint effort by the Sea Life Center, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Steller's eiders have been listed as a threatened species for the past ten years.
Unalaska, AK – Roger Rowland has been appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Unalaska City Council.
The council voted 4-2 in favor of Rowland at Tuesday night's meeting. He will complete Joanna Aldridge's term, which ends in October.
Rowland was one of three people to submit letters of interest for the position, which Aldridge announced she was vacating at the February 13 council meeting. He says he had considered running for council last October, but missed the filing deadline, and will put himself up for election this coming fall.
